Ten Years of Regrets
by Wildfire37
Summary: Ten years... nine years of regretting what I've done. One year of getting revenge. He took everything from me. And tonight... I'm going to return the favor.
1. The Beginning of the End

**A/N: Hello, everybody! This is a story idea I've had in my head for a while now. Sorry, this is going to be a little... no, a lot shorter than my usual chapters, but this chapter's purpose is purely to gather interest and set the scene. Have fun! Read & Review!**

**Disclaimer: If only, if only...**

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><p><strong>Ten Years of Regrets<strong>

Prologue: The Beginning of the End

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><p><em>Feel the Rhythm<em> rang throughout the apartment. A young man groaned in response. The cheery, love song didn't fit his recent mood, but he had no way of changing it. Slowly opening his eyes to avoid being blinded by the light coming in from the window, he ran a hand through his hair, giving it a wild, spiky look. The man sat up on his bed and looked out the window, using his hand to support him from falling back into the welcoming covers. The sky was a perfect shade of blue and only a few clouds dotted the horizon. A brilliant sun kept watch over the earth almost out of sight from the window. The young man paused, appreciating the scenery, then found himself looking at his own reflection.

He was startled by it, at first. Since the incident, he had let his appearance get out of control. Chocolate brown hair ran rampant across the top of his head, long and unkempt. A messy stubble had also invaded his lower face, giving him an almost caveman appearance. His eyes had long since lost the brightness that made the light blue pop out.

Ignoring the need to maintain his image, he went downstairs to see who was ringing the doorbell. His heart skipped a beat when he looked upon the face that graced his humble abode. Luscious, autumn hair flowed down her head to a bit past her shoulders. Bright orbs of amethyst appeared where her eyes should go. An angel... no, a dream made real was at his doorstep.

It took all his willpower not to scream, limiting himself to merely a groan. "Kairi, oh Kairi, why do you continue to torment me?" He straightened out the gray t-shirt and black jeans he was wearing, then put his hand on the doorknob.

As soon as the door opened the littlest bit, Kairi charged through, throwing her arms around the young man's neck, yelling, "Sora!" She clutched him like he would disappear if she let go. A fair assumption. Sora hesitated, but he felt her shiver and tremble against him. Kairi maintained holding on just as tight, but pulled back to look into Sora's eyes. She gazed into them, taking a desperate look, as if searching for something in them. Seemingly unsatisfied by his cold response to her appearance, she clung to him again, even tighter than before.

Sora barely made out her whisper, "I choose you."

That was all he needed to hear. He wrapped his arms around her, matching her strength and surpassing it. He felt her smile into his shoulder and he grinned in response. For a few minutes, they just stood there.

* REVENGE * REVENGE * REVENGE *

A black sedan pulled to a stop in a church parking lot. A door opened, and a pair of black boots stepped on to the ground, snow crunching underneath it. The man in the boots got out of the car. He was wearing jeans, a trench coat, and a hoodie underneath the trench coat, all black to conserve heat in the middle of winter. The man pulled his hood up, covering his hair and eyes in shadow, and put some gloves on his hands. He shut the door, locked the car, and walked towards his destination.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think about it in a review, or even a message! Have a good New Year's, everyone!**

**-Wildfire37**


	2. Feel the Rhythm

**A/N: Well, I came through, didn't I? I think this might be the first time I've actually gone through with a self-imposed deadline. Am I allowed to pat myself on the back or is that considered arrogant? Ah, who cares? -pats self on back- Anyway, I really like this chapter. It's got a kind of _haunting_ feel to it. That's my opinion anyway. Ok, so enough with this author's note, enjoy the chapter!**

**-Wildfire37  
><strong>

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><p>Chapter 1: Feel the Rhythm<p>

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><p>The man in the black jacket passed by few people on his way to the end, and only one recognized him. Another man with blond hair, wavy and flowing to the back of his head, also dressed in appropriate winter attire, squinted his cyan blue eyes at the man. The man in the black jacket hurried his walk, this would be easier if no one knew he was here. However, it was to no avail, for the man in the black jacket heard a voice behind him.<p>

"Hey! I know you!" The blond man exclaimed. Hoping that he was talking to someone else, the man in the black jacket kept walking. A tanned hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, putting him face to face with the blond man. "Sora! Wow, is that really you? Damn, man, it's been... what, three years?"

Sora searched the man's face for a clue as to who he was. The flash of realization hit him like a lightning bolt. It was Tidus, one of his best friends growing up. Sora turned his attention back to Tidus' question, saying, "Five, actually. A few months, too, but who's counting, right?" He put on a playful tone and his infamous grin that had won him hundreds of fans alone.

Tidus didn't buy it, though. "Where have you been, man? No one has seen or heard from you since..." He hesitated, as if wondering if mentioning her would be crossing the line.

It was, and Sora averted his eyes, suddenly finding the bar next to them extremely interesting. He replied, "Traveling."

There was a pause and Tidus backed off the subject, he looked over at the bar Sora was still staring at. Then, he was struck by an idea. Tidus gestured with his hand to the bar, titled _Destiny Diner_, saying, "You know what? Let me buy you a drink. I can update you on everyone, and maybe you can tell me where you've been these past few years."

Sora hesitated, he wanted as few people as possible to even know he was here, and Tidus had become nothing if not even more popular the past five years. "I actually have some-" Sora started, when he was interrupted by Tidus.

"Sorry to use the cliché, but I won't take 'no' for an answer," He said. Tidus, although shorter than Sora, managed to drape an arm around Sora's shoulder and make it look cool and natural. He proceeded to guide them into _Paopu Palace_.

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><p>"Sora, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Yuna," Tidus said, gesturing with his hand to the bartender. The woman, also a blonde, heard her husband and greeted them at the end of the bar. She was wearing hot shorts and a black tank top, probably the standard female uniform for the job. Sora noticed that Yuna was strikingly beautiful, but the thing that caught his interest was her eyes. One eye was a dark blue while the other was an emerald green.<p>

She looked him over quickly, before beaming widely, as if he was a member of her own family. She laughed lightly, and said, "So, you're the infamous Sora. Y'know, you're a hero to my Tidus. For the early part of his career, you were all he would talk about. 'Would Sora like this?' and 'I don't know if Sora would do something like that.' My personal favorite was 'I don't think even _Sora's_ girlfriend lets him do that!'"

Yuna broke out in laughter, and Sora even let out a chuckle. Tidus' cheeks were tinted red, and he murmured, "That didn't happen..." After laughing at him some more, Yuna calmed down and Tidus had his second great idea of the night. He said, "Hey, babe. Can you put on track 37?"

She smiled knowingly, almost a smirk but with more innocence, then nodded. She skipped over to a jukebox at the other end of the bar, pressed a few buttons and skipped back to her husband and Sora. Music started playing from a series of speakers set up hanging from the ceiling. Sora instantly recognized the guitar strums at the beginning of the song.

Tidus observed Sora's expression, then commented on the song, "You remember this song? You should, you wrote it."

Sora looked into Tidus' eyes, wondering what the man could possibly want from him. _An explanation_, the thought came to mind, _The question is... do I have one he'll understand?_ Tidus tried figuring out how Sora was feeling through his eyes as well, but couldn't get anything from them. It was like they had died a long time ago. Sora broke the gaze and turned to Yuna, "Can I get a beer?"

Yuna nodded, then walked into the kitchen behind the bar. Tidus grabbed Sora's arm, "Seriously, man, what's wrong with you?"

Sora hesitated, and then Yuna came back with a beer can and set it down in front of Sora. He opened it up, and took a swig with one quick motion. Thinking hard about his response, Sora replied, "It's nothing important."

Tidus didn't believe him, but decided to lay off for now. It's not like Sora was going anywhere, right? He got distracted by Yuna twirling a finger in his hair. Turning to face her, Tidus gave a charming smile then took her hand and brought her out from behind the bar. He clasped her hand with one of his and slipped the other around her waist. She laughed lightly, placing her hand around Tidus' neck. The two began to sway to the song, as the lyrics came on. Sora's voice sounded much smoother and younger in the song than it did now.

_C'mon babe, just take it easy._

_ We don't have anywhere to go,_

_ so let this guitar wash over you._

_ Just feel the rhythm, feel the rhythm..._

- - - REGRET * REGRET * REGRET - - -

_ Feel the rhythm, baby..._

As Sora sung the last line of his new song, the main lights came on in the stadium and the audience erupted in cheering, applause, and catcalls. Sora grinned, life was good. He took the microphone from the stand in front of him.

Sora waited for the applause to die down, then spoke into the mic."Thanks to everyone who came out here tonight!" Another deafening uproar from the crowds of fans arose. Sora waited for them to calm down again, before continuing, "Tonight, as you most of you know, is special to us. On this day, two years ago... the Oathkeepers were formed. As such, I'd like to thank every single person that's helped us out on our journey. First, there's Pence, Hayner, and Olette, our tech crew. Then, there's Yuffie, our publicity manager; Leon, our actual manager; Cloud and Aerith, who have been selling us instruments since our first gig; and Riku Malusian... of course, the C.E.O. of Destiny Records, who took a... special interest in us early on. You guys mind coming out? I think the fans want to thank you!" Yet another outbreak of applause came up, which only increased as their friends came out.

First out was Yuffie, short, black hair bouncing while she did acrobatics on stage; then Leon, who struggled to control his new girlfriend while appearing as cool as possible; Pence, Hayner, and Olette, the 'Triplets' as the band affectionately dubbed them; Cloud and Aerith, always calm and collected; and Riku. Dressed in a complete business suit, with black slacks, jacket, dress shirt, and tie, he fit the role of C.E.O. rather well. His long, silver hair only complimented his above-average looks. The young business prodigy strutted on stage, and seeing his girlfriend, walked over to her and kissed her passionately. This evoked a conflicted response from the audience: some were ecstatic at romance finally being on the stage, others were outraged that said romance wasn't between Sora and Kairi.

The girl Riku was kissing was, of course, Kairi. Sora made the mistake of looking over at them. Instantly horrified that the girl he was in love with was kissing another man, he took off his shoe and threw it at Riku. The shoe flew through the air and hit Riku in the shoulder. He stumbled back a foot, then glared at Sora, to the booming laughter of the audience. Sora shrugged, and said, "No PDA on stage, Riku. Sorry."

Sora pointed at each of them in turn and introduced them to the audience. After finishing, he turned his attention to the rest of the band. "Now, we get to the guys and girls you've been dying to meet. Over there on the electric guitar is Tidus Clearwater, on bass is Xion Kisaragi, on drums is my very own brother Roxas, and on vocals, the girl you all know and love, my best friend in the whole world: Kairi Refay!" The crowd simply erupted at the last name. It was thought all over the world that Sora and Kairi were destined to be together, and they just hadn't figured it out yet. That was part of why the band was so popular. Unable to control the crowd again, Sora resigned with, "And just so you don't forget, I'm Sora Michaels! Good night, Destiny Islands!"

Everybody walked off stage into the exit to the right. While down in the locker room, Roxas shouted out, "Hey guys! Naminé has reserved a couple of booths at _Destiny's Diner_! Who's up for an after-party?"

General signs of affirmation were made among the group and they headed out to the diner. A few hours later, Sora and Kairi were back in their apartment. As the two were best friends, they decided to roommate with each other. At the current moment, Sora was standing on the balcony overlooking Destiny Islands' main island. He had both hands rested on the rail and was staring off into the moon. Since getting home, he had taken off his jacket and tie, and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the black undershirt he was wearing and the good luck charms he always kept with him: a silver necklace resembling a crown, and another necklace.

This second necklace was a charm made of thalassa shells that Kairi had given him for his birthday. The charm had five different shells arranged like a five-pointed star, tied together with a wooden token resembling a crown in the middle, but the best part was the drawing on it. On the top shell, a simple face was drawn, using only two dots, a curved line, and a couple of jagged lines for the hair. Supposedly, sailors used to wear them to insure safety during their trip.

Kairi, still wearing the black dress she had worn for their performance, walked down the stairs of their luxury two-story apartment and saw Sora out on the balcony. She smiled wistfully at him, and then walked out there to join him. She opened the glass sliding door, to the alarm of Sora, who turned around quickly. Seeing who it was, his body calmed down and his heart sped up.

"Mind if I join you? It's a beautiful night," she asked, in the sweet tone that Sora loved.

Sora grinned back at her, the same grin that Kairi loved, "Sure. Better to share it with someone you care about, right?"

Kairi smiled and nodded, then walked over next to him. They both put their hands on the rail and stared into the night sky. Kairi noticed the charm around his neck, "You still have the charm I gave you for your birthday?"

Sora looked at her, then down at the charm. He played with it a little, then nodded. "I never go anywhere without it," Sora replied, "What's the use of a good luck charm if I'm not wearing it?"

Kairi smiled softly, then returned her gaze to the moon. Soon, she nudged Sora with her elbow, "Do you mind cuddling with me? It's kinda cold out here." Sora shook his head in response and placed his arm around her waist, and Kairi snuggled up closer to his body, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around his stomach. "Mm, this is nice. Can we stay like this for a while?"

Sora smiled at her and replied, "I don't mind."

They stayed like that for a few minutes, then Kairi broke the silence, "I really liked that last song you sang. _Feel the Rhythm_, was it?" Sora nodded in response. "It was really good. Who was it for?"

"Ah, so you saw through my ruse?" Sora answered with another question.

"I've known you long enough to know about these kinds of things. So, tell me. Who did you write that song for?" Kairi asked, secretly wishing beyond anything else that it was for her.

Sora's expression darkened a little, and he replied, "Someone that I really care for."

"Oh? Does she know it?"

"I don't think so."

"That's a shame."

"Huh?" Sora turned his head and looked at her. Kairi met his gaze with her amethyst eyes.

"You're a really great guy. Handsome, charming, talented, smart... I can't imagine a girl not falling for you," she explained, searching his eyes for something that would tell her if he felt the same towards her. At the same time, Sora was looking for something similar in her eyes. Both of them found it.

_ She's so beautiful right now, in the moonlight_, Sora thought. Kairi placed her hand on his cheek, and Sora placed his hand atop hers. Without realizing it, they found their heads inching closer towards each other. They maintained eye contact, letting their gazes tell each other what they couldn't with words. Kairi felt his warm breath on her cheek. As their lips neared each other, they felt their eyes closing, allowing themselves to be sucked into the moment. They allotted themselves this one sin, and their faces got closer and closer...

RING! RING! RING!

Sora and Kairi snapped away from each other instantly. After getting over the shock that she had almost kissed her best friend, Kairi realized that her phone was ringing from inside her purse. She kneeled down and got her phone out of it. The caller id told her that it was her boyfriend. She struggled to find the words, switching her gaze from Sora to the phone rapidly.

Finally, Sora found them for her, "You should take that call, if that is who I think it is." With that, Sora turned and faced the moon again.

Kairi was heartbroken, and tried to plead with him, "Sora..." Yet Sora wouldn't even look at her. "Sora!" she yelled. Sora turned his head to look at her, but all Kairi found in his eyes was a cold, hard, stony wall.

Sora's voice was just as cold and distant. "Go. Accept the call." Sora turned towards the horizon.

Wrestling with tears coming from her eyes, Kairi pressed a button on her phone and answered with a shaky voice, "Hello?... Oh, hey, Riku..." One last look at Sora told her all she needed to know, "Yeah, I have time to talk..." Kairi walked inside the apartment, wiping a tear from her cheek.

- - - REVENGE * REVENGE * REVENGE - - -

The song died down in the bar, and Tidus twirled Yuna one more time. After kissing her for a moment, he turned his gaze towards where he had left Sora. Startled, Tidus walked over to where Sora used to be sitting. All he found was an empty can of beer and a twenty-dollar bill. Tidus hurriedly got out his phone and sent a mass text to some friends.

**From:**** Tidus Clearwater**

**Text:**** You'll never believe who I just ran into...**

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><p><strong>AN: Pretty good, right? I think I've outdone myself on this chapter. So, what do you think? Is the story getting the tragic feel yet? Does anyone have a guess as to what happened? Tell me about in a review or message!**

**In other story news: The next chapter of _Mistakes_ should be up soon, so if you're a fan of my work, look forward to that. I'm thinking one week, maybe, before the next chapter of it is up. Hopefully shorter, but you never know.**

**Special thanks to Rivendell101 for being the first person to review on this story! I really do appreciate every review I get. Again, thanks to you, if you're reading this.**

**Have a nice day, everyone!**

**-Wildfire37  
><strong>


	3. Auburn Angel

**A/N: Ok, so I followed up my awesome deadline-keeping self with a deadline epic fail. Anyway, I'm going to be focusing most of my attention on this story right now. I'm still determining plot for Mistakes and I'm considering another story. Not saying it's set in stone... just keep that in mind.**

**Also, to avoid confusion, here's a few things about this story that I figure I should put in. 1) This story is made up of two main elements: flashbacks and the present. Each chapter will alternate between the two and the flashbacks will NOT be in order 2) Each chapter's set up will consist of the present at the beginning (with the exception of the prologue), a flashback in the middle (each will be started with the** **'**- - -REGRET * REGRET * REGRET - - -**'), and back to the present at the end (marked by '**- - - REVENGE * REVENGE * REVENGE - - -**') 3) Finally, this story will consist of 10 chapters, one for each year, so to speak. I'm not counting the prologue, though, so the site will say that this story has 11 chapters.**

**Anyway, enjoy this installment of Ten Years!**

**-Wildfire37**

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><p>Chapter 2: Auburn Angel<p>

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><p>Sora passed by a small church when he heard, "You may now kiss the bride." His curiosity got the best of him, and he peered in through the glass windows of the door to the church. In it, he saw two men and a woman. The woman was wearing a long, white, bridal dress and a veil over her face. The veil did nothing to conceal her smile, though, at marrying the man she loved. One of the men, a gentleman with blond hair, standing in between the two and holding a bible in his hands wore a white suit. The other man wore a black tuxedo, and his hair was slicked back. His smile matched that of his bride's.<p>

The next Sora did, he couldn't understand why. He walked through the church's doors and sat down in a pew near the back. Only the priest noticed him, as the bride and groom were too busy kissing. Sora observed the room he was in. It was a standard chapel, white walls, white, vaulted ceiling, and white tiles. At the back of the room, where the wedding was being performed, was a pedestal, no doubt used to speak from on church days. High on the wall behind the pedestal was a stained glass picture of a man being crucified. The pews were made out of a light-colored wood. The strangest thing about the room was the fact that it was only him, the priest, and the happy couple inside.

- - - REGRET * REGRET * REGRET - - -

Everyone in the room stood up and clapped as Roxas and Naminé pulled away from each other. The two were beaming at each other, at life, at everything. They broke their loving gaze to accept the applause given from the crowd, yet stayed in each other's arms. Sora, standing next to Roxas as his best man, was honestly happy for the two of them. They were so young, and yet Sora couldn't say he found a flaw in their love. Roxas and Namine had been friends since elementary school and started dating in high school. If they could make it past all the drama that had followed them, they could make it through anything.

A half-hour later, Roxas had been called to the middle of the room for a dance with his bride. Sora smiled sadly at the couple, he knew it was unlikely that he would ever find that kind of love. He was currently seated at a small, round table, lavishly decorated with a white, embroidered tablecloth. Extremely fine china and ornately designed silverware, accompanied with napkins that matched the tablecloth, laid atop it. A bouqet of different flowers was used as the centerpiece. As he let the music go to his head, Sora felt his thoughts drifting back to _her_. He suddenly found himself fiddling with his phone in his hands. Sora opened up the contacts list, and scrolled down, looking for _her_ name.

Sora felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see his stern brother's face. "Don't call her, Sora," Roxas said.

Sora stood up and protested his brother's statement, "I have to, Roxas! She's the love of my life!"

Only Roxas' stony gaze met Sora's passionate one, "You'll find another one."

"How do you know that? Not all of us are lucky enough to meet our soul mates in elementary school!"

"Trust me, Sora. Whatever you're looking for, you won't find it in her."

Sora's face reflected his irritation, and he glared daggers into Roxas. A moment later, he lost all his anger. Turning the chair to face Roxas and sitting back down, Sora confessed, "I know. I just... I need someone to love, you know?"

Roxas sat next to him. "I get it. Remember what she did to you, though? Do you really want to go back to that?" He said, as gently as he could. Roxas had already broken through Sora's mental wall, now he needed to guide Sora back to the light.

Sora sat there in his own misery for a little while, being comforted by Roxas. Finally, after a lot of mental reflection, he truly got over her. Sora sat up and looked into Roxas' eyes, giving him one of the grins Sora was famous for. Then Sora said, "You know what, Roxas? I'm over her."

Roxas was, unsurprisingly, a little taken aback by this sudden change in character. He hesitated before asking, "Are you sure? I mean, you've been sitting in silence for like half a minute, maybe."

"Yeah, I'm good," Sora replied.

Roxas searched Sora's eyes to see if he was telling the truth. Seeing that he was, he laughed, "All right, then! Welcome back to the world of dating."

The brothers shared a laugh, with much hair ruffling and noogies. After that, they sat back in the chairs and watched everybody dancing. Sora remembered that Namine was now married to Roxas, "By the way, Roxie, aren't you supposed to be dancing with Nam?"

Roxas shook his head. "She's dancing with her dad. I'd dance with mom, but..." He trailed off.

Sora understood, "I get it. In that case, you can be my wingman."

Roxas stared at Sora, confused that this was the same person that sounded like he wanted to kill himself a few minutes earlier, "Umm... what?"

"Yeah! I can't ask Tidus, he'll end up deciding that he wants the girl, and I definitely can't ask Axel, he'll accidentally set the girl on fire. Actually scratch that, he'd set the girl on fire because he thought it was funny. I figure that you probably still like Namine enough for you to not want to hit on my girl, and if you do, then I'll just tell your new wife. Plus, we're both handsome, charming, and talented. What girl could say no to that?" Sora explained, "Now let's go."

Sora got up and walked away, leaving Roxas still scratching his head, before realizing that he should be following Sora.

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><p>"Hi, have you met Sora?" Roxas led off. The girl, realizing that she was being talked to, turned to face Roxas, who was presenting Sora. "He's handsome, charming, talented, and is the cockiest son of a gun you'll ever meet. Here he is."<p>

Roxas pushed Sora into the seat next to the girl. He didn't realize that Roxas would be so aggressive about this after the initial shock. She was actually very pretty, with short, black hair, and she was wearing a black dress. "Umm, hello... Sora," Sora heard from beside him.

Sora chuckled nervously, deciding to go with the overly-nervous-yet-really-sweet approach, "Uh, hi. I'm Sora... wait, you already knew that. Ugh, stupid move, Sora. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Can we start this over?" Sora turned around, smirked, ran his hand through his hair, and turned to face the girl again. Only the girl wasn't there anymore. In her place was a tall man, with long, brown hair, a scar running across his nose, and wearing a nice suit.

"Looking for my girlfriend?" The man said, cracking his knuckles ominously.

Laughing nervously for the second time in two minutes, Sora backed out of the chair. After getting a safe distance away from the jealous boyfriend, he scanned the room for Roxas. After the finding the blond groom, he maneuvered his way through the crowd until finally reaching Roxas. Roxas grinned at the approaching Sora, saying, "So how'd it go, champ? Lemme see the numbers."

Sora glared at Roxas, "She has a boyfriend. A jealous, tall, muscular boyfriend." Sora continued the glare before bursting out laughing, which Roxas quickly joined in on.

Their laughter was interrupted by a distraught Namine. "Roxas! There you are! Where have you been this whole time?" She exclaimed.

"I was helping Sora get game," Roxas replied, earning him a hit to the back of the head from Sora. "Why? I thought you were dancing with your dad."

"For one dance! It's been at least seven songs since I last saw you. Now get your ass on the dance floor and dance with me!" Namine yelled at Roxas. Roxas looked at Sora pleadingly, to which Sora responded with an apologetic look. Namine grabbed Roxas by his collar and threw him out onto the dance floor. She turned back to Sora with a sweet smile on her face, "By the way, Sora, you're looking for a girl, right?"

Sora hesitated, seeing a master manipulator at work. _Then again, what do I have to lose?_ His thoughts reminded him. "Well, I'm not looking for a guy," Sora replied sarcastically.

Namine ignored his comment, and said, "That red-head over there has been sitting by herself this whole event. That means no boyfriend."

Sora's eyes lit up. That girl was as good as... holy crap. This girl was unbelievably beautiful. She had auburn red hair, flowing neatly down past her shoulders. Her face was decidedly the most strikingly attractive that Sora had ever seen, and she looked to be pretty fit, to top it off. _Forget the girl, Sora. YOU are as good as gone,_ he warned himself.

With his eyes locked on the auburn angel, he told Namine, "Thanks, Nam. I'll see you on the other side." Sora straightened his tie, and made his way over to the girl. Roxas, looking for Namine, walked back toward where she was observing Sora make his approach.

Roxas followed her gaze and realized her plan. "Uh, Nam?" He asked, "Are you sure it's a good idea to unleash Sora on your sister?"

Namine, without even looking at Roxas, replied, "Who knows? Maybe the Refay and Michaels families are just good together. Now, come on, let's go dance." Namine took Roxas' hand and dragged him again onto the dance floor.

Sora straightened his tie again and ran his hand through his hair. It was his nervous habit, and he was as nervous as all hell. He picked up his courage and walked up to the girl, who looked disinterested with her arms crossed. Smiling charmingly, Sora went for the kill immediately, "Have I told you that you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen?"

The girl returned his smile, improving her beauty tenfold. Sora observed her eyes. They were like violet seas, and Sora had to snap himself out of them before he lost his cool. She replied, "No, but I doubt that it could hurt your chances with me."

Sora grinned, this was a girl he could get along with. He sat down next to her and stuck out his hand, "Hey, I'm Sora."

She took his hand, and Sora almost died from how soft her skin was. _This girl is perfect, so far. Keep up the cool, Sora_, he thought. Sora rotated their hands so hers was on top, and he kissed her hand. The girl giggled, "Nice to meet you, Sora. I'm Kairi."

Keeping the smile up, Sora said, "You wanna know something, Kairi? I think we're gonna be great friends."

- - - REVENGE * REVENGE * REVENGE - - -

The bride and groom finished their kiss, and Sora stood up and clapped. The two, startled by their only visitor, looked in the direction of the stranger. Sora smiled in their direction, and their doubts or fears were assuaged. The groom swept the bride off her feet and carried her out of the chapel, into a limo that was waiting outside. A tear crawled down Sora's cheek and he sat down again, sucked into his own private world of misery.

"Are you alright there, my son?" Sora looked up and saw the kind face of the priest. He shook his head in response to the priest's question. _What could be the harm in telling this priest, who knows nothing about me?_ Sora rationalized, but he didn't have to make that decision, as the priest continued. "That was a good thing you've done for that couple. I'm assuming you don't know who they are?"

"No, should I?" Sora asked.

Shaking his head, the priest replied, "I don't see any reason for you to. They come from relatively low-status families."

"Why did you want to know if I knew them, then?"

"I was hoping that their families would have forgiven them, sending you as their representative. Do you want to know their story?"

Sora hesitated, then agreed, "Sure, what's the harm, right?"

The priest chuckled at the stranger, "Their names are David and Ashley. You see, like I told you, their families aren't very well off. However, a few months ago, a wealthy family, called the... Malusians, if I remember correctly," Sora blanched at the name, but the priest didn't notice, "wanted to marry their children to those two you just saw. They offered vast amounts of money and power to the families in exchange for their children's hands in marriage. Naturally, the families agreed and for a while, all was well.

"However, as David and Ashley grew to know each other better, they fell in love with each other. Of course, this threw a wrench in the plans of the families. They forbid David and Ashley from ever seeing each other again. Somehow, though, they kept sneaking around and meeting up in the middle of the night.

"One night, David was caught in the yard of Ashley's family. So, seeing the need for drastic measures, they banished him from this town. Yet, he kept sending letters to Ashley through trusted friends. The family found one of these letters in Ashley's room. Deciding that they cannot keep the two apart, they agreed to call off the marriages. They've never forgiven David and Ashley, though, and tonight, the two are going to run away together, away from their vengeful families," concluded the priest.

Sora scratched his chin, "That sounds like a Romeo and Juliet story if ever I've heard one."

The priest laughed at Sora's joke, "Yes, yes, indeed it does. Anyway, I was hoping that you were a member of one of those families, ready to be forgiven for your transgression against them and ready to accept their love."

Sora laughed bitterly, "I'm afraid that, unfortunately, that won't happen. Revenge cuts deeper than love can heal."

The priest eyed Sora for a few seconds before responding, "Spoken from the voice of experience, I see. I believe that love can heal all pain, though. Even revenge's hateful grip can subside with love's gentle touch. You just need to let go of the pain first." Sora became deathly silent, and the priest decided to leave him to his thoughts. Walking back behind the pedestal, he opened a door to the back of the chapel. "If you ever need me, my son, just come back here. I'm always here." With that, the doors shut on Sora. In a few minutes, he got up and walked out of the doors of the chapel.

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><p><strong>AN: So... how'd you like it? This chapter was my favorite so far in this story. Considering that it's out of two, I suppose that isn't saying much, but oh well. Like I said before, don't expect an update on Mistakes for a while, all focus is being directed towards this. Anyway, reviews are like my bread and butter, and I'm hungry! No pressure.**

**Thanks to:** MylilFluttershy** for reviewing. Come on, one person. Really?**

**-Wildfire37**


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